Aim. This article reviews the effects of Hirudo Medicinalis in coagulopathies and cardiovascular diseases.

Background. Hirudo Medicinalis is one of the conventional treatment methods in folk medicine in many countries of the world and is today paid more attention to. The use of this therapy is increasing considerably but no much effort has been done to explain about the effectiveness and mechanisms of action.

Method. In this review, databases and search engines such as PubMed, Google Scholar and SID were searched out for literature published between 1989 and 2016, using the English keywords "Hirudo medicinalis/Leech therapy, mechanism of action, cardiovascular disease, homeostasis, and anticoagulant, and their Persian equivalents, individually or in combination. In addition, Persian available books available were used.

Findings. Hirudo Medicinalis is used in the treatment of arterial hypertension, angina and myocardial infarction and has anticoagulant effects. The literature emphasizes on the role of nurses in the care of patients under this treatment.

Conclusion. According to studies,
it seems that Hirudo Medicinalis can be used as a complementary medicine
technique in the treatment and research of cardiovascular and coagulation
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